The Search For Matthew
by lydiak10
Summary: Inspired by the Spongebob episode "Have You Seen This Snail?" Upset with no one noticing him and his family always fighting, Matthew decides to run away. But when he's transported to Ohio, Alfred, Arthur, Francis, and Kumajirou must work together to find him. I make an appearance in the later chapters, so keep an eye out.
1. Chapter 1

The Search For Matthew

Inspired by the Spongebob Squarepants episode: "Have You Seen This Snail?"

Chapter 1

Another meeting of the Allies had ended. The usual set of events happened: Alfred energetically presented his so-called great ideas, Arthur and Francis bickered with each other again, Yao kept a safe distance away from Ivan, and they had got nothing resolved.

Matthew was the only one left in the room. He sighed sadly; no one had noticed him at all, as usual. This has been going on for a while now, and he was getting rather tired of it. With Francis as the exception, the other countries seemed to pay little attention if not none at all to him. _"Will it always be this way?"_ Matthew thought.

He suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Arthur's voice.

"Hey, Alfred, I need to talk to about something."

"I'm not Alfred, Arthur," said Matthew quietly. "I'm Matthew." This was another thing that had been going on for a long time. The times where he was actually noticed, he was mistaken for his brother. Alfred was louder, more popular, and more recognizable.

Arthur smacked himself on the forehead. "Oh, Matthew, I'm sorry! I didn't-"

"Really, Arthur!" said Francis, coming up behind him. "Matthew doesn't look _entirely_ look like Alfred. One would think that you would remember what he looks like by now."

"I'm not an idiot," Arthur grumbled. "I'm able to recognize some people by their appearances. For example, I can always recognize you from your flashy but impractical clothes."

"Well, what you see as impractical, I see as fashionable," said Francis smugly. "Unlike your clothes."

Arthur's thick eyebrows furrowed. "Are you implying that there's something wrong with the way I dress?" he asked.

"I would say that dressing like a punk or with no sense of style is wrong," Francis answered.

"Shut up, frog!"

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

And a second later, Arthur tackled Francis to the ground.

"Guys! Guys, please don't fight!" Matthew cried. But his voice was too quiet, and the quarrelling countries couldn't hear him. So Matthew watched them duke it out for a minute before starting off for home.

* * *

When Matthew came to the door of the apartment that he shared with his brother, he could hear shouts of excitement coming from inside. When he came inside, he saw Alfred sitting on the couch, intensely immersed in a video game on the TV. His formal meeting clothes had been replaced by a simple t-shirt and jeans. Matthew glanced at the TV. Alfred was controlling a digital Captain America, having him run around on an empty road and punch a couple of oncoming digital aliens.

"Hey, Al, what game are you-"

"Can't talk right now dude!" said Alfred, keeping his eyes on the game. "This is an awesome, new Marvel game that I ordered, and I'm trying to beat all these aliens so I can finish Level 3!"

"...Okay."

Matthew was just walking into the hallway when suddenly there was the sound of rapid knocking on the door. Alfred groaned as he paused the game and went to open the door. He was greeted by Arthur, his arms crossed and his eyes full of anger.

"Hey, Artie, what are you-"

"Don't call me that, git," Arthur growled.

"Dude, what's got your pants in a twist?" Alfred asked.

"I allow you into my house for _two days_ ," said Arthur. "And what do I come home to? Burger wrappers all over my kitchen, my personal drawers pulled out, and my secret journal LYING OUT IN PLAIN SIGHT!"

It suddenly hit Alfred. _"Oh, crap! I knew I forgot to do something before I left!"_

"Look, dude, I'm sorry!"

"Oh, it is TOO LATE for 'sorry', mister!" Arthur shouted. "Why the hell did I ever think that you could be responsible for anything?!"

Now Alfred was starting to get irritated. "Well, it's not like your list of instructions helped. There were too many things to do."

"I tried writing them out in a way that you would understand!" said Arthur. "But I guess I wasn't clear enough, because you're so bloody illiterate! Really, I wonder why _you're_ the leader of all of us!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You would a better country if you weren't such a irresponsible, arrogant, burger-loving idiot!"

Alfred's anger flared. "I'm a better leader than you ever were! You always yell, your cooking sucks, and over two hundred years ago, you raised the taxes on everything!"

"I did that so you would stay with me!" Arthur shouted.

"IF THAT WAS THE REASON, THEN MAYBE I'M GLAD I BECAME INDEPENDENT FROM YOU!" Alfred yelled.

That did it for Arthur. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Matthew stood frozen in hallway, having heard the entire argument, when Alfred came his way.

"Alfred-"

"Listen, Matthew, I really don't have time for your lectures right now," said Alfred through clenched teeth.

"But Al-"

"JUST GO AWAY!" Alfred suddenly snapped. He stormed into his bedroom and slammed the door, leaving Matthew on the other side, alone, shocked, and hurt.

* * *

Matthew sat in the darkness of his room as tears were streaming down his face. Why did this have to be his life: to live each day hardly ever being noticed and being surrounded by a family that always fought with each other? If it was going to stay that way, it was becoming clear to Matthew that there was no point of being here anymore. With a heavy heart, he made the decision to run away.

He had packed some clothes and personal belongings into his backpack and placed the written note on the bed. He kneeled down in front of his pet bear. "Well, Mr. Kumakiba, looks like it's just you and me."

The bear, whose real name was Kumajirou, titled his head and said, "Who are you?"

The question made Matthew feel worse and he answered in a quiet voice, "I'm Matthew. I'm your owner. And you're the only one I have left."

He put on his backpack, placed Kumajirou on his shoulders, and walked out of the apartment without looking back.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Matthew and Kumajirou had been walking for an hour. They had passed the long rows of apartments and had come to a big, grassy field. As they were crossing the field, something in the long grass caught Matthew's eye. Matthew and Kumajirou bent down to see the small coin.

It looked about the size of a silver dollar. It was silver with blue lining, and in the middle, there was a golden star. Matthew picked it up to look at it more closely. But the moment he touched it, a bright light began to glow around it. He dropped the coin in alarm, but the light grew brighter. When the light had disappeared, Kumajirou gasped.

Matthew was gone.

* * *

Matthew sat up, groaning and holding his head to stop it spinning. When his vision was steady again, he looked around. He was sitting on the side of the road, and behind him and across from him, there was a line of trees. Several cars whizzed past him on the road. A feeling of dread set in when he saw that Kumajirou was no where near him.

"Where am I?"

As if to answer, something caused him to look up, and he saw a big sign above him that read "Welcome to Ohio!" By that time, the only word Matthew could say was a faint "Maple."

* * *

A couple of days later, Arthur was on his way to Alfred's apartment. But this time, it wasn't to yell at him. He hadn't seen Alfred for a few days, and to be honest, he was growing a bit concerned. So he was going to check on him.

Arthur walked up to the door and knocked. There was no noise coming from inside.

"Alfred? Are you in there?" He called as he knocked again. Still no reply.

He turned the doorknob, and to his surprise, the door was unlocked. He opened the door, and he was slightly startled by the sight he saw.

The TV was filled with static, and on the couch, Alfred lay in a fetal position, clutching the game controller. His hair was a mess, there were bags under his slightly bloodshot eyes, and he occasionally let out a couple tired groans.

"Alfred!" Arthur ran to Alfred's side. "My God, what have you done to yourself?!"

Alfred turned his head and looked at Arthur. "I can't….finish….the game….Arthur…." he croaked. "I've been playing….for two days straight….and I can't….beat….the last level…."

"Alfred, listen to me," said Arthur. "You need to take a break from this game; you're exhausted."

Alfred hesitated for a bit. But he finally laid his head down and mumbled, "Okay."

"I'm going to turn this TV off, and you're going to head to your room and get some rest-"

The door suddenly burst open. "Alfred! Arthur!"

Alfred and Arthur looked in the doorway to see Francis.

Arthur screamed and shut his eyes. "YOU FORGOT TO CLOTHE YOURSELF AGAIN!"

Francis, who looked like he had just stepped out of the shower, was only wearing a towel around his waist. His hair was wet and his eyes were full of fear.

"That doesn't matter!" he said. "Is Matthieu here? He said that he was coming over to my house today, but he never showed up. I tried to call him a couple times but he didn't answer."

"And so you had to run here practically naked to ask us?" said Arthur.

"Chill out, dude," said Alfred. "I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

He looked in the kitchen and knocked on the door of the bathroom, calling Matthew's name. Matthew didn't answer back.

He looked in his brother's bedroom. It was empty. Even Kumajirou was gone. Alfred noticed a note lying on the bed. When he picked it up, he noticed that the date on the top indicated that the note was written a couple days ago.

He began to read:

 _Dear Alfred, Arthur, and Francis,"_

 _I appreciate all that you've done for me all these years, but I feel like I must move on. Kumakichi and I have left, probably somewhere where the people I'm around will actually get along and I will be noticed. I'm sorry. I will miss all of you._

 _Love,_

 _Matthew_

Alfred stood there, still as a statue, holding the note in his hands. Time seemed to have slowed down. He felt something inside of him shatter.

Arthur and Francis came up behind him. "Alfred, did you find him?"

Alfred turned around to face them. They noticed that tears were welling up in his eyes.

"He left," he said quietly as his voice cracked.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Night had fallen in a downtown city somewhere in Ohio. Matthew was trudging along the sidewalk, hungry, alone, and miserable. He couldn't get a room at a motel, because he didn't have any money, and he couldn't be given shelter from anyone, because-you guessed it-no one noticed him.

 _"Surely,"_ Matthew thought. _"This couldn't get any worse."_

However, just as he was thinking this, he felt two rough hands cover his mouth and pull him into a dark alley. He came face to face with two big, strong, scary thugs.

"Give us your money!" one of the thugs whispered fiercely.

"I-I don't have any! I swear!" Matthew squeaked.

"The little runt's trying to trick us!" the second thug sneered to the first.

"Hey."

Matthew and the thugs turned their heads at the source of the anonymous voice. Farther back in the alley stood the dark silhouette of a woman.

"Let the kid go," said the silhouette as it walked towards the thugs.

"Stay out of this, lady!" said the first thug.

But he suddenly let out a yelp of pain as the silhouette kicked him in the jaw with a swift move of her leg. With the skill of a ninja, she punched and kicked the second thug several times in the stomach.

"This chick is nuts!" the first thug exclaimed. "Let's get out of here!"

And the thugs retreated out of the alley.

The young woman stepped closer to Matthew so he could see her more clearly. She was slender, but she had a built body. Her raven colored hair was a pixie cut and dark eyeliner framed her steel blue eyes. She was wearing a black leather jacket, ripped blue jeans, black combat boots, and couple earrings on each ear.

"You okay, kid?" she asked as she helped Matthew to his feet.

"Y-Yes," Matthew stuttered. "Thank you for that."

"You should be more careful," said the woman. "There are lots of people like that around this area. You're not from here, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Matthew replied shyly. "This is my first time here." He didn't want the woman to think of him as crazy if he told her that a magical coin transported him here.

"Looks to me like either you're visiting someone here and you're just out for a night jog," said the woman. "or you're a runaway."

Matthew sighed. "Yeah, it's the latter."

His stomach gave a loud growl, and his face flushed with embarrassment.

"You hungry?" asked the woman. "You can come over to my place and rest there for a bit."

Matthew's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Usually I don't do that kind of thing, but you look like you can use it."

"Thanks a bunch!" said Matthew gratefully.

The two of them started walking down the street.

"The name's Jade by the way," said the woman.

"I'm Matthew."

A couple minutes passed by, and they came to a set of apartments.

"Here we are, home sweet home," said Jade, opening the last door on the first floor.

When Matthew stepped inside, he immediately assumed that Jade was a gothic rocker. There was a black couch in front of the TV, and the walls were covered with posters of bands like Three Days Grace, My Chemical Romance, and Evanescence.

"I've got some leftover take-out. You okay with that?" said Jade, opening the fridge.

 _"Well, it's not pancakes,"_ thought Matthew. _"But it'll do."_

After the two had finished eating, Matthew was looking through his backpack for his toothbrush. Jade happened to glance at a picture of Alfred, Arthur, and Francis that Matthew had brought.

"Is this the family you ran away from?"

Looking at the picture made Matthew's heart feel heavy. "...Yeah."

"So why'd you leave?"

"The three of them always fight," Matthew explained. "And I just needed to get away from it all. Also, hardly anyone back home notices me or they mistake me for my brother. I figured there was no point in me staying if I was just gonna keep feeling…"

"Invisible?" Jade finished. "I know what it's like. I hardly got noticed by my own family. To live in a place where no one cares about you, it bites." After a brief pause, she said, "Well, I'm pretty tired. I'm gonna head to bed." She headed toward the bedroom. "Goodnight, kid."

"Goodnight," Matthew replied, laying himself down on the couch and turning off the lamp.

* * *

Back in New York, after they had read Matthew's note, Alfred, Arthur, and Francis called the police to set out and find him. The next day came, and the police came back with nothing. France had come over to check on Alfred; he had been up all night, crying and worrying about Matthew.

Neither country had said a word for a long time until Alfred said, "I'm going to go look for him."

"Alfred-"

"He's my brother," said Alfred. "I can't just sit and wait for him to come. I'm going out to find him."

Francis jumped up. "Well, if you're going, then I'm coming with you! Sure he's your brother, but he's also my maple leaf!"

After a brief pause, Alfred said, "Okay, you can come. So where should we look first?"

Before Francis could answer, there suddenly was a knock on the door. Alfred ran to open it, hopeful that it would be either Matthew or the police. It was neither, but it was the next best thing: it was Kumajirou.

"Francis! It's Mattie's bear!"

"Kumajirou!" Francis ran up to the bear. "You were with Mattieu a couple days ago, right?"

Kumajirou nodded.

"What happened? Where is he?"

"I don't know," squeaked Kumajirou. "He touched this and disappeared." He held up a patch of earth that he had dug up. Laid upon it was a silver coin with blue lining and a golden star in the middle.

Alfred and Francis looked at the object.

"Maybe it's magic!" Alfred assumed.

"Well, none of us know much about magic," said Francis.

"No," said Alfred. "But we know someone who does!"

* * *

"Arthur!"

Arthur jumped as Alfred, Francis, and Kumajirou burst into his basement. The three of them looked confused for a second. Arthur was wearing a black cloak, and he was standing on a pentagram on the floor, holding a spellbook.

"What are you doing?" asked Alfred.

"For God's sake! How many times do I have to tell you gits to knock?!" Arthur exclaimed angrily.

"This is important!" said Francis. "Matthieu's polar bear said that he was with Matthew when they found this coin. He says it made Matthew disappeared!"

"What?" Arthur looked at the coin laid upon the patch of earth the little bear was holding. "He disappeared when he found this? Or maybe….he was teleported…." Suddenly, it was as if a light bulb turned on in his brain. "This must be a portkey!"

"A what?" the two other nations asked.

"It's an enchanted object that can transport anyone to a specific location."

Alfred and Francis still looked confused.

Arthur sighed. "Read some 'Harry Potter', you two."

"So you're saying that this coin can teleport us to the place where Matthew went?" asked Alfred, his hopes rising.

"Yes."

"Well then, what are waiting for?! Let's go get him!"

"I should come with you," said Arthur. "as I am an expert on the magic arts."

Francis frowned.

"C'mon, Francis," Alfred told him. "He knows how to work the portkey, and the more people we have, the better."

After a brief pause, Francis finally sighed. "Fine. But you're not coming dressed like that," he told Arthur.

* * *

Later, the polar bear lead the three nations to the field where Matthew was last seen. They all looked at the pin.

"Are you sure about this, Arthur?" asked Francis.

"Of course I do," Arthur replied. "We all touch it on the count of three."

…

"One….two….three!"

They simultaneously touched the coin and there was a blinding light around them. Alfred suddenly felt his feet leave the ground and he started spinning around in a circle like a fast merry-go-round. He felt Kumajirou clinging to the back of his shirt, and along with the screaming of the wind, he could hear Francis screaming beside him.

"Let go, lads!" Arthur yelled.

"What?!"

 **"LET GO!"**

Alfred let go of the coin and felt himself falling.

* * *

He landed on the ground with a thud. He picked himself up and looked around. The grass was long and there was a nearby pond with long reeds along the edge. There were a couple of houses around the area. But he couldn't see Arthur and Francis.

"Arthur? Francis? Where'd you guys go?"

There was a rustle from the reeds as Francis stood up. "No need to shout; I'm right here." He looked around. "Where's Arthur?"

Suddenly, there came the sound of splashing from the pond and a pair of arms thrashing above the surface. Without a moment's hesitation, Francis grabbed one of the arms and dragged Arthur, who was coughing and gasping for air, onto the bank.

"Arthur!" Alfred came running to the pond. "Dude, are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me!" said Arthur when he was able to catch his breath. "Where's the coin?!"

"Here it is," said Kumajirou calmly, pointing at the tall grass where it was lying.

"We should try not to lose it again," said Francis, taking a piece of ribbon out of his pocket. He pulled the ribbon through the coin and tied it around Kumajirou's neck. ("Oh, you look so cute!")

"So, where are we?" asked Alfred.

"I don't know," said Arthur. "I assume we're still your country. But other than that, I don't know where the bloody hell we are."

There was a car coming down the road. Alfred stood on the side and waved his arms. Fortunately, the driver slowed down and stopped in front of them.

"Excuse me, sir," said Alfred. "Which state are we in?"

The driver looked at him, confused. "Are you dumb or something? This is Ohio." And he drove away.

All three countries were stunned. Matthew got transported all the way here? He could be anywhere in this state. Where would they start?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As the three nations and polar bear walked down the road, they planned to ask anyone outside if they had seen Matthew. They soon came to this wide open, grassy space with a couple of tree around it.

There was a girl sitting on the ground with her back against a tree. She was drawing in a big sketchbook and had blue earbuds in her ears. She had tan skin, dark-brown curly hair, and glasses, and she was wearing a black jacket.

"Maybe that girl saw Mattie," said Alfred. "I'll go over and ask her."

Francis stopped him. "Not so fast. I have a way with the ladies, so I will ask her."

"Hey! We're in _my_ country!" Alfred protested. "I should ask her!"

"In your dreams, burger boy!"

Arthur just smirked. "Look at the shirt, lads."

Alfred and Francis looked. Aside from her black jacket, the girl was wearing a sweater with the Union Jack on it; a British shirt. Alfred and Francis sighed in disappointment.

"Stand aside," said Arthur. "and let the English gentleman speak to her."

"Don't scare her off, Arthur," Francis hissed.

Arthur shot a glare at Francis before walking over.

When he came near to her, he saw that the picture she was drawing was that of a man with big anime-like hair, a mask, and an angry face.

Arthur tapped on her shoulder, and almost immediately she took out her earbuds and turned her head.

"Oh, hi!" she said in a cheery kind of voice.

"Hello." Arthur glanced at her drawing. "Did you draw this?"

"Mm-hm."

"This is remarkable," Arthur complimented. "You have really wonderful art skills."

"Thank you." The girl smiled.

"Who's the man?"

"He's a character from a game called 'Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask'. His name is Randall."

 _"Oh,"_ thought Arthur. _"I might've heard of 'Professor Layton' before."_

"I'm really interested in British culture and media," said the girl, who was pleasing Arthur more. "And actually, by the received pronunciation of your accent, I believe I'm talking to an Englishman."

"Yes," said Arthur. "I'm Arthur."

"I'm Lydia," said the girl, warmly shaking his hand.

"Actually," said Arthur. "My friends and I need your artistic abilities."

"Really?"

Arthur beckoned Alfred and Francis over. "This is Alfred and Francis," said Arthur. "Alfred's brother, Matthew, ran away a couple days ago, and we think he might have come here."

"So you want me to make a lost poster?" asked Lydia.

"Yeah."

"I can make some. But can you tell me what Matthew looks like?"

"He looks mostly like me," said Alfred. "Except his hair is a bit longer, he has violet eyes, and he has a long, loopy curl on his head."

Lydia nodded knowingly. "I can take you guys back to my house. That way, I can draw Matthew and print out multiple posters."

"Thank you, Lydia," said Arthur. "That would be a great help."

A couple minutes later, all of them arrived at Lydia's house. With Alfred as a reference, Lydia drew Matthew very accurately and made many copies of the lost poster. The three countries thanked Lydia, and set off to place the poster around the city.

While they were putting up the posters, Arthur noticed that on the brick wall, there was another poster. He took a closer look at it. It was a wanted poster with the picture of a young woman with bleached hair cut into a pixie cut and a scowl on her face.

Assuming that there would be a criminal on the loose in this city, Arthur took down the poster, folded it up, and put it in his pocket, just in case they might spot her and have to call the police.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Matthew asked Jade as she grabbed her jacket.

"We're going downtown," she responded, smirking. "To have some fun."

They left the apartment and started walking down the street.

A few minutes after they left, they noticed a police car coming down the road.

"Damn!" Jade hissed. She put up the hood on her jacket, pulled a pair of sunglasses out of pocket and put them on, and stepped behind Matthew with her face turned away from the road. She stayed like this until the police car had passed.

"What was that about?" asked Matthew.

"It's nothing," Jade quickly told him, resuming her walking and leaving Matthew confused.

They finally came to this bar downtown. It was packed with people that were either drinking, playing at the pool table, or just laughing and talking loudly to each other. Matthew hadn't been to a bar before, so he felt awkward in this environment.

"Want me to buy you a drink?" asked Jade when they walked up to the counter.

"N-No, thanks," said Matthew. "I'm just gonna use the bathroom. I'll be right back." And he walked off, leaving Jade alone to buy her glass of whiskey.

* * *

"Arthur, this is not the time for that!" said Francis as they approached the bar.

"I'm stressed out as much as you two are," said an irritated Arthur. "I need a drink."

After he went inside, Francis told Alfred, "You'd better go with him, make sure he doesn't drink too much."

Alfred nodded and went inside after Arthur.

* * *

Jade was finishing her whiskey when she turned her head to the left. There was a young man with messy blonde hair and large eyebrows sitting tree stools away from her with a glass of rum at his place. At that moment, he turned his head and made direct eye contact with her. She quickly turned her head the other way and stayed that way, with the ominous feeling that he was staring at her. After a few seconds, out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the man wasn't looking at her anymore and felt a wave of relief.

She looked behind the man, but the uncomfortable feeling came crashing back down. There was another young man who was walking up to various people and looked like he was asking them something because the people shook their heads after he spoke. He looked….ever so similar to Matthew, except his hair was shorter, his eyes were bright blue, and instead of a long curl on his head, he had a short nantucket that stuck up.

Jade suddenly remembered the picture of Matthew's family that she saw last night. Was this Matthew's brother? What was he asking those people? Was he looking for Matthew?

She snapped out of her thoughts when he saw the man that looked like Matthew take the man with the eyebrows by the arm and drag him out of the bar. ("But I just ordered another rum, you git!")

Shortly after this happened, Matthew came out of the bathroom and came back to Jade. By this time, Jade had completely calmed down, and she and Matthew played a couple rounds of pool before leaving.

* * *

Alfred, Arthur, and Francis went to a couple other places to ask anyone if they had seen Matthew, but the answer was always "no". Since it was getting dark, the three got a room at a motel for the night. (They had some bribing to do to have the manager allow Kumajirou stay in the same room with them.)

Hours later, Francis and Kumajirou were asleep in one of the big beds. Arthur lay in the other bed, the effect of the alcohol giving him a headache. He was just about to drift off to sleep when he heard something in the room. He sat up, looked at the far corner of the room, and saw Alfred sitting in an armchair with his face in his hands. A couple sniffs and quiet sobs came from him. Surprised, Arthur got out of bed and walked over to him.

"Alfred?"

Alfred looked at Arthur, his face streaked with tears. "Arthur," he said quietly. "What if we don't find him? What if he's-"

"Don't say that," Arthur told him gently. "We will find him; don't worry."

After a moment of silence, Alfred said, "I didn't want to lose another brother. What I did already made me lose you."

"What do you mean?" asked Arthur.

"Did you think I was always glad to be independent?" said Alfred. "Sometimes I kinda miss having you around."

"I didn't think you thought that way," said Arthur. "I was really doing my best to take care of you, you know," he went on. "After you left, I thought that what I did wasn't good enough."

"But it was," said Alfred, putting a hand on the older nation's shoulder. "I really appreciate all that you did for me, making me a strong country just like you."

Now Arthur was starting to get a little misty eyed.

"I'm sorry about everything I said, that day we had that fight," said Alfred.

"Me too," said Arthur softly before Alfred pulled him into an embrace.

For a whole minute, the two of them remained in each other's arms. When they finally broke away, Arthur said, "We should probably get some sleep."

"Hey, Artie?" said Alfred. "Is it okay if I….if I sleep with you?"

Arthur hesitated for a bit. But then he said, "All right. But just this once."

"Thanks, dude."

Both of them got on either side of the bed. Alfred went to sleep right away, but Arthur gazed at his ex-colony for a number of minutes before drifting off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning, the three countries along with Kumajirou were having breakfast in the dining area before they would go out to search some more. The mini TV above them switched to the news channel where they were addressing a big story.

"Our top story this morning," said the news reporter on the TV. "is the continued search of the escaped criminal, Jade Brockwiler, who broke out of prison a week ago. Authorities encourage all citizens to approach this woman with caution if spotted, for she is extremely dangerous and violent."

A picture of Jade Brockwiler appeared on the screen. Pixie cut bleached hair and a scowl on her face. Arthur looked at the picture. Then he pulled the folded up poster out of his pocket and saw that the pictures were the same. Then he suddenly remembered that girl that he made eye contact in the bar yesterday, and how eerily similar she looked to the pictures.

* * *

Matthew was sitting on the couch, completely shocked. He had just seen the news about Jade. For the past two days, he had been living in the house of a criminal?! He had to get out of there fast.

He grabbed his backpack and was about to head out the door, when a hand roughly grabbed his shoulder.

"Thinking about running away from me, are ya?"

Matthew turned to see Jade's evil smirking face behind him.

"Let's go for a little drive," she said, holding up a pair of handcuffs.

* * *

"I'm telling you!" Arthur was telling the other two. "She looked like this picture! It's the same girl!"

Francis was glancing out the window when a grey car came into view and stopped at a stop light. Francis looked a bit more closely. A slight panic welled up when he saw that the driver was a woman with pixie cut hair, exactly like the pictures. He saw that there was someone struggling in the backseat. His panic rose when he saw a long, loopy curl on the person's head.

"I SEE MATTHIEU!" he shouted, startling everyone in the dining area. "HE'S IN THE GREY CAR WITH JADE BROCKWILER!"

The three countries dashed out of the motel just as the light turned green and the car startled to drive away.

Alfred knocked on the window of the car that was behind the grey one. "Follow that grey car!" he shouted to the driver. "My brother's been kidnapped by a criminal!"

The driver was shocked by the people who had entered his car, but when he heard about someone being kidnapped, as soon as everyone was in, he stepped on the accelerator and took off after the grey car.

They followed it for a mile into the city. They soon pulled into the parking lot of a tall building where the grey car was parked. The driver called the police while the three countries ran inside the building to find Matthew and his kidnapper.

* * *

The two of them were standing on the wide, flat roof of the building. Matthew stood in front of Jade, his hands handcuffed, his mouth duct taped shut, the mixture of hatred and fear in his eyes.

Jade started stalking around him like a crafty cat. "Remember when I told you that there lots of bad people around this area? I guess you're just too naive to know who the real bad people are. It's no wonder no one has or will notice you." She pulled out a dagger from her pocket, and Matthew's eyes widened.

"Someone is gonna find us up here," said Jade. "If they're gonna take me down, then you're going down, too."

But just as she raised her dagger, the door to the roof burst open, and Alfred, Arthur, and Francis appeared.

"Let my brother go, you bitch," said Alfred, the tone of his voice sounding determined and dangerous.

Jade pocketed her dagger and grabbed a metal pipe from a pile that was next to her. She ran to attack the countries, but Arthur was quick. He grabbed a stray pipe from the ground, and blocked Jade's blow with it.

The two of them fought with the pipes like swords. Arthur continued to dodge and block Jade's blows. (Being a pirate in the past had its advantages.) While they were fighting, the key to the handcuffs fell out of her jacket pocket. Francis took this opportunity to grab it and run over to Matthew. He unlocked the handcuffs from his hands and removed the duct tape from his mouth.

Jade noticed this, and she starting running toward Francis.

"Francis! Catch!" called Arthur as he threw a pipe to him.

Francis caught it and quickly blocked Jade's blow. Now both of them were fighting with Jade.

They unknowingly fought too close to Matthew, causing him to stumble backward and fall off the edge of the roof.

Panic flooded Alfred's mind as he ran over to the edge and looked down. Matthew was hanging by his fingertips on a ledge a couple feet down from where Alfred was. He was out of his reach.

Alfred reached out his hand to him. "Matthew! Grab my hand!"

But Matthew just kept hanging there with a sad expression on his face. The events from a few days ago to a couple minutes ago filled his head and made him feel hopeless. _"I should just end it all right here,"_ he thought. He looked up at Alfred, but he was surprised to see tears falling from his blue eyes.

"Matthew," said Alfred. "Please don't leave me again."

Without another moment's hesitation, Matthew reached up and grabbed Alfred's wrist. Alfred tightened his grip and pulled his brother up onto the edge of the roof.

But they had no time to relax, because Jade swung her pipe and hit Francis in the head. He fell unconscious to the ground.

"Francis!"

Jade dropped her pipe and suddenly grabbed Alfred with one hand and pulled out her dagger with the other. She held Alfred tight while she held the dagger at his neck, making Arthur freeze.

"Now drop the pipe," Jade indicated to Alfred. "or he loses his head."

There was a long pause. Arthur still had the pipe in his hand, the dagger was still at Alfred's neck, and their eyes were locked onto each other. Finally, Arthur dropped the pipe.

But a second later, there was a loud clang and Jade fell to the ground, unconscious. Standing above her was Matthew, holding a pipe.

All of them stood still, looking at each other and breathing heavily. A faint moan suddenly broke the silence.

"Francis!"

Arthur was the first one to reach him. Francis' eyes fluttered open as he rubbed his head.

"Francis," said Arthur. "What's the date today?"

"It's ….uh….June 6th…."

"What rude nickname do you always call me?"

"I _used_ to call you call you 'Black Sheep of Europe'."

" _Well, at least he doesn't have amnesia,"_ thought Arthur. But he did have a big bruise on his forehead. "We'll have to put some ice on this," said Arthur. "But other than that, you'll be fine."

After they got some ice for Francis, the _four_ countries were together in the lobby of the building.

Matthew knelt down in front of Kumajirou. The little bear looked up at him with those small black eyes, and in his tiny voice, he said, "M-Matt-hew."

Matthew scooped up the little bear in a big hug, jubilant to see his pet and that for the first time, he remembered his name. "I missed you, too."

"We all missed you, Mattie," said Alfred.

After a pause, Matthew said, "I'm sorry I ran away. I just felt invisible with no one noticing me, and I'm always overwhelmed with the three of you fighting all the time."

"Don't worry," Alfred told him gently. "We're not gonna fight anymore."

"Really?"

"We walked all over over this city in a different state to find you," said Arthur. "We've worked well together so far."

"Oui," Francis agreed. "I think we can get along for a while."

Tears started to fall down Matthew's face as he broke into a smile. "Thanks, you guys." And he threw his arms around his brother. He felt the arms of Alfred, Arthur, Francis, and Kumajirou wrapping around him, making him feel more warm. The family was finally reunited.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The police showed up and arrested Jade when she regained consciousness. Meanwhile, Alfred was saying to the others, "Well, I guess we should go home."

"Wait!" said Arthur, taking out a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket. "There's something we have to do first."

* * *

After walking out of the post office and into an empty alley, Matthew asked, "So, how do we get home?"

"The same way as we came," answered Arthur, pointing to the coin tied around Kumajirou's neck. "With this." He took the coin and held it out in front of all of them. "On the count of three. One….two….three!"

The countries touched the coin together. There was a bright light glowing around them, and when it had faded, the alley was empty.

* * *

They found themselves in the familiar grassy field in New York; they were back. Now that they had nothing more to do with the coin, they buried it, preferring it to be their little secret.

As the four countries stepped onto the road, Alfred smiled at his brother. "Welcome home."

Matthew smiled back, happy to know that his family did care about him and that things were going to be better.

And the family started down the road back to their home in the city.

* * *

Lydia was sitting on her bed, listening to music on her laptop and dancing to the rhythm. She happened to glance at her desk when she spotted a letter on it. She picked it up. There was no return address. Nevertheless, she slit it open and took out a white card with the words "Thank You" written on it. She opened the card and started to read.

 _Lydia,_

 _We finally found Matthew. We've all gone home together. Thank you so much for your help._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Arthur, Francis, Alfred, Matthew_

At the bottom were four names: Arthur's neat cursive, Francis' loopy signature, Alfred's big handwriting, and a smaller name that read "Matthew".

Lydia smiled at the card, happy that Matthew had finally reunited with his family; she always like happy endings.

The End


End file.
